Monsoon
by Moonlit dark
Summary: As the rain starts to fall, Kenshin lets his emotions go and has a minor breakdown in the rain. Will someone come to sooth him? KK


**_Monsoon_**

Kenshin sighed and stilled his busy hands in the laundry tub. The sky was growing dark, the clouds covering the usual clear blue with a grimy grayish white. He really should take the clean laundry inside to make sure it wouldn't become drenched and dirty again. He should. But no matter how many times he told himself that he found his body unmoving, still in a crouch before the tub. His breathing was stable and the silence soothed his suddenly aching head. The cool wind blew before him and gently swayed his bangs back and forth his face. Kaoru and Yahiko should be training at another dojo about now and would stay there during the rain if they were wise. Sano hadn't shown up the last couple of weeks, but that really wasn't something new or worrying. Megumi had taken a trip back to Aizu, and wouldn't return before the summer was over, which meant he had the Kamiya-dojo all to himself. Before he even had realized it himself, he had moved his frozen hands from the water and stood up. Resembling a fabric-clad statue, he felt the wind pick up and play with his worn out clothes and fiery red hair. He clenched his fists and tried to keep his usually carefully made mask placed on his face. It was hard. So hard. With the day growing colder together with his chained heart and nobody there to distract him from his own mind and conscience, he felt his control start to slip like sand through an hourglass. A thunder rumbled over his head, soon followed by a blinding lightning that lit up the increasingly darkening sky. It was the only warning he got. In that same moment the hourglass broke and the heavens dropped its essence on the dry ground. His shoulders started to shake, the rain pouring down and soaking him to the bone. Feeling warm liquid on his face, he slowly raised his hands to his eyes and looked surprised at the clear drops left on his fingers. Was it the rain? Or was it tears? He didn't know, and at that moment didn't care. He only let all the build-up emotions run over him like the tears the heavens spilled at the same moment. The water drenching him purified him, making him just a bit cleaner and innocent again, but at the same time it drowned him, kept pouring until he in the end didn't fight anymore, but only let the blue consume him. Feeling his body tensing and trying to stop his emotional breakdown by reflex, he let out a small empty laughter. So this was it. The end of his sanity had finally come. Maybe he could rest in peace now. Life had only been a struggle – a knife-edge-balance between insanity and clarity, blurriness and truth. Stilling at the sound of the gate opening and closing, he felt his mind go blank. What now? If anyone saw him like this… it would ruin the kind image they had of the happy-go-lucky wanderer, always repenting for his sins, but doing it with a smile. But now… he had cracked. He'd been broken for far too long, and now it was impossible to fix him again. He hadn't had time to decide what to do, when a familiar voice spoke, a kind hand touching the icy skin of his shoulder. "Kenshin?"

It was her. The half-made wall around him cracked a bit more, now leaving only ruins, an old fake copy of the masterpiece he'd made during the war. He involuntarily shivered, but didn't move otherwise. Kaoru's concerned voice sounded again, this time sounding a bit frightened. "Kenshin? Is something the matter?" She paused and moved in front of him. "Why are you standing in the middle of the rain?" cerulean eyes sparked worriedly at him, her face contorted into a mask of concern and wariness. Carefully, as if he was a fragile thing easily broken, she brought up her hand and rested it on his scarred cheek. His heart constricted painfully and quietly started beating sincerely again, pushing warmth through his frozen body. Letting a pained look pass over his face, he lifted his arms without warning and embraced her fiercely. Finally letting completely go, his body started to shake with sobs and became limp, dragging her down with him on the muddy earth. Kaoru's eyes had become wide, and it took her a moment to process what had just happened. Then, with a sad smile lightening her face and her own tears starting to fall, she tenderly put her arms around him, giving him all the warmth and comfort he needed.

Kenshin knew he shouldn't do this. He knew that it wasn't proper. He knew they were sitting out in the rain, and had gotten their clothes all muddy, which meant more laundry to him. But he didn't care. Clinging on to her like she was his anchor in a stormy sea, he let go of all feelings, good and bad, and decided to deal with the rest later. And there they sat in each other's arms – Kenshin crying for his past, Kaoru for the broken man in front of her, and the sky for all the sorrows in the world.

When the rain lessened, and the sky slowly started to turn blue again, he finally let go of her. Looking down he let his soaked bangs cover his expressive eyes, and tried to find the right words. "This one is very sorry Kaoru-dono. You were not supposed to see me like that, that you were not. This one is sorry for burdening you with my problems, and-"

"It's okay." She said it quietly, almost in a gentle whisper, and then flashed him a bright sincere smile that made his heart beat faster.

Praying that his face wasn't as red as it felt like, he continued to apologize, his gaze still on the ground. "But if I hadn't been so careless-"

"I said it was okay, Kenshin." She stated again, much firmer this time. Then her voice sank to a whisper again, so low that he was unsure if he heard right. "Please just… Look at me. Look me in the eyes again."

He deliberated this, but raised his head nevertheless, and blue clashed with the interesting golden-violet his eyes currently were sporting. In that second, everything fell into place. A kind of connection was made between the two, and a deep understanding hung in the air. He knew it now. He hadn't lost his sanity – it was standing right before him, radiating a light strong enough to burn away his inner shadows, and keeping his heart in a strong grip. He wasn't alone. Someone understood him. And he was going to live, still repenting for the past, but now with a clear view of his future. As understanding filled him, his face slowly contorted into a smile – a real smile, something he hadn't been able to show for years. Smiling even wider at Kaoru's stunned expression, he slowly stood and helped her up with him, and then let go. After a couple of seconds of silence, his smile turned gentle and he once again let her read his emotions through his eyes. The windows to his soul. "Arigatou, Kaoru."

He chuckled a bit at the gaping face she made, and then dusted himself off. "This one will go and make some tea, that I will. You go dry off meanwhile, Kaoru-dono. I will return to the laundry afterwards, that I will."

Not managing to close her mouth, Kaoru nodded dumbfounded and watched him wander off into the house, her heart still racing from the radiant smile he had presented her. After getting over the initial shock, she felt her insides turn warm and let a smile light up her face. Kenshin had practically given her glimpse of what he was feeling, and dropped the honorific for the first time since she'd learned to know him. Uncaring about her wet clothing, she happily skipped inside the house, seeing hope luring in the horizon.

Unknown for her, the violet eyes she had come to know so well were observing her every move. Kenshin smiled once again and looked at the blue sky, so different from the grey one earlier that day. He felt happy, light and warm – just like after the monsoon.

* * *

**I got inspiration from a song to write this, and I hope I didn't make Kenshin and Kaoru TOO OOC ^^  
I Hope you enjoyed and will review :D **


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